WOW! THE END IS IN SIGHT.

It is not really the end, it will be the beginning. Book one is written. The cover is painted and designed and titled. Tomorrow I will do another step and that is to mark the chapter headings for Amazon's publishing.

Next Steps:
Get an ISBN and follow the "Writing and Marketing Author Plan by Pavartik Tyler.
I was totally at a loss on how to market the book but this 30 day plan sounds really easy and clear to do. It takes the terror out of following all these social medias.

I have my website started already and am doing the Visual Site Design by CoffeeCup rather than their new Responsive site that may take a Masters degree to follow.  I want the site up ASAP. I can go back later and figure out the Responsive site that enables everyone; with a phone, a pad, or a computer to see the site.

My blog is up already.  You're reading it right? And I still have my followers and with a more faithful schedule of blogging, hopefully more will begin to follow me.

OHHHH, that reminds me. I am putting together some freebies to give to some faithful readers who would like to critique my book. I will frame the original chapter drawings and give them away for a critique.

So, let me know if you are interested. I will need an email to send the book to and an address to send the drawing too.  I will order the frames in two weeks, so they will be a nice signed gift.

Talk to you soon.
Sheryl

How we judge, tells who we are.

Someone close to me judges the world by whether it is “pretty” or not; not just the people in the world, but the land, the highways, the buildings, the trees. Are they pretty? If not you sense, she feels they are not worthy.

I grew up in a time when I never felt that people were judged by their looks. Oh, sure, there was the occasional Marilyn Monroe or James Dean, who ‘wowed’ everyone. But the rest of us were just beings who did their best to feed their family, enjoy life, smile at you as you pass,or pick up something you dropped. 

You could see them on the street or in the parlor and notice that smile, hear that laugh, but your first thought was not whether they were “pretty” or not.

Now, we tend to judge other’s worth by whether they are pretty or not. It cannot seem to be “She has such a beautiful smile.,or Her laugh erases a dark day.

So, next time you look for the pretty, how about looking for the soul behind the smile?

I think I should just change the name of this blog to:

“I AM SO CONFUSED.”

Perhaps I am just working on too many things at once and I have not had a vacation forever, but let’s start here. As I go to post it, I pat myself on the back for getting it out here a bit more quickly, then I notice that I have written on the same issues I did last time..

Maybe I should rename it:

"GET A NEW LIFE."

I have good intentions and then it just pops in my head that I have not written in over a week, because:

I am trying to relearn Zazzle. I started with them in 2011 and have effortlessly sold, mainly otters on t-shirts, over the three years. It is definitely not a living wage but then again, I am exerting next to no effort on it. I decided it was time to get serious.

So, I spent one full day this week learning how to maximize my store in Zazzle. I had directions. I outlined my plan. I went to sleep, confident in my step 1-2-3 plan.

Only thing is; the plan was old and those steps were no longer in the same place, on the website. All the plans were old. I am convinced that everything written on the internet is outdated by the time I read it.

My next ‘because’ is creating my website for my soon-to-be Kindle book.

I have created my own web pages with Coffee Cup Web designer, since I first learned html in 2004. It was so nice to move up to their Visual Site Designer. Coffee Cup was still basically, at least I thought it was, a site for non professionals to create their own website.

Now they have a Responsive Web designer. It sounds great, your website will be able to be seen on an iphone or a laptop. I must have missed the asterick that said, “for professionals only.” Either that or my mind is just going. I think my household is voting for the loss of my mind, but, I notice they are not volunteering to design my website for me.

I am very slowly learning it, or I am convincing myself of that. Now, I discover that it is only part 1 of a two part program. They haven’t told me how much part two will cost yet, either.

Anyway, I vote that everything written on the internet has to have a date with it. Then, you will not spend a day with outdated directions, And, while I am at it, I suggest that all commercials have to pass a test for irritation. If they put a song on an automobile commercial, you should be able to understand the words, at the very least. I would name the obnoxious commercial but, after several times of writing down the name, I lost the paper and still do not remember. So, your irritating people does not translate well.

I really cannot believe how long it has been, but everything is coming to a head now.  The first book in my series is done and the coding is done for Kindle, except for the Chapter head picures, I am workig on. That should not take too long.

My side business is creating more drawings for Zazzle (www.zazzle.com/VanVleckStudio).  My best seller is  an otter drawing so I am working on several more of them. I really favor the elephant and baby and the giraffe and baby but each to their own taste.  No wonder I cannot seem to get one thing done.  I tend to work on my webpage, then work on the drawing, then read what I have to do next for Kindle.  It's one of those Master of none issues. I have a hard time figuring out what is the most important thing to do.  It is not proof-reading this blog. I know that for a fact.

And I wish to thank the four of you who have held in there with me.  All, as I care for a 92 year old mother with dementia and a bad heart and a house full of men, meaning dirt abounds, as well as dirty socks under the table.  REALLY??? You can't take them downstairs with you???  We will not even bother to talk about the three cars that were driven to the junk yard this past week.  We now have one working car and another should be working car with a weird computer starting problem.

I have also been sidetracked by another book I am anxious to work on, as well as the Second book in the Moon Tree Series, which has a character who insists she is not Dawn French, but I know better.

I seem to have developed ADD as an adult though and just realized that I purchased some miniature polymer supplies to create fairies again with.  Sure, I have time for that.

I am off to work on my zazzle drawings, I also want to do an alligator or two.  Just love Alligator Boys. I never realized that an Alligator had a personality.

Or should I work on my website???

Try to write every week.  It should be easy this week as daughter and her friend are coming to visit for the weekend and that is always a lot of laughs and some Bailey's.

Rewriting, Editing, Leaving it new and fresh???

I am still in the first rewrite after independent editor review and corrections/suggestions. It is actually umpteen rewrites, truth be told.

I have read sites that suggest sending your manuscript out after the first write. I know I would scare agents off with my comma fest. It seemed like a dumb idea at the time, but the more I rewrite, the more I feel I should go back to the first draft.

The first draft was full of life and exciting. I have to wonder if I am losing my voice in all these rewrites, or is it just that I am losing my excitement?

Anyone experience anything similar? What are your thoughts on this?

How do you react to Critiques? Do you cringe a little inside your gut? Are you relieved to have someone agree with you?

It has been just south of forever since I have posted here. I won't list my excuses but I now have some thing really exciting going on.

My question for you: (before I tell you my story) is how do you react to critiques? Even if you know it is for the best, is there some little part inside of you that twists and groans as you use that delete key? Before you make a change do you kind of resent it? Is it all okay the next day when you read it back?

Sometime ago, a young editor offered me some advice on MOON TREE BROTHERS. Recently, she contacted me and said she is opening her own Editorial service and would like to offer me a deal. She would do a major edit, then edit after I rewrite and then a final spelling/grammar/correction edit before I begin sending it out again. And, this is all for the price of "FREE." I am so excited. Not unlike half the world, we are very low income and it is wonderful of her to offer to do this. Hopefully, she will not shoot me for telling you that she is editing as

The Blue Pencil Parlor - www.BluePencilParlor.com - Mary@BluePencilParlor.com 

I do not know what her fee schedule is, but I am very impressed with the thoroughness of her critique.

I have received her first edit and am excited about the rewrite. There were things I just knew needed changing. I was not really sure about others, and a few have twisted my gut, even though I think she is right. She has really clarified it for me and I am happily doing a major rewrite.

The second exciting thing is that Manju Howard, in the Indiana Chapter of SCBWI organized a get together of six MG/YA authors. Originally, there were double that number, but the city of Columbus, IN shut down on the day we were to meet, for a run. No cars were allowed to enter or park in the city, so the date of our meet was pushed back. They had a very safe run and the next weekend six of us did get together for a fantastic critiquing session.  I was very proud to be a part of such a wonderful group.

I am working furiously now to 1. stay awake and 2. eat properly and 3. rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
Medicine I am on, is making me sleepy. I have literally woke up with my head on the keyboard and a series of gggggg's running on my manuscript. I am also learning to eat well on a Vegetarian diet and am very happy with all the hints people are giving me. I also need to thank my husband, who listens every day to the rewrite and gives me his ideas.

And, I want to thank my followers for sticking by my during my long silence. I am back.

I am finally nearing the end of the writing part of my website. What I am dealing with now is social media.

I want to add links to all the standards: Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook,Youtube, and Blogger.

Twitter went off without a hitch, but it is becoming more apparent that I have to have the website up and running to add the rest. Just doesn't seem right to me.

A follow up to Author Bios - using mine

I am not sure that I was clear enough yesterday in the bios. So, today I will use one of my drafts to show you what I did.

#1: Bio for Twitter or Elevator  Pitch. It is a micro bio and in the first person. You start with your name, occupation and accomplishments.

My name is Sheryl A. VanVleck. I graduated from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, IL. I am a portrait artist and sculptor, and member of SCBWI. I live with my husband and two grandsons in Indiana.

I'm not sure this is telling enough really. Where is the I have written and what is it about, so I will have to work on it more.

#2:    Bio for Query letters and Social Media - this is 50 words and first person.

My name is Sheryl A. VanVleck. I am a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and I have completed two years at the University of Illinois - Chicago Circle for pre-law; with honors. I am a portrait artist and sculptor, and member of SCBWI. I live in Indiana with my husband and two grandsons.

#3:  Bio for Bylines and Book Jackets - again 50 words but you change it to third person.

Sheryl A. VanVleck is a graduate of  ...

#4: Short Bio of 100 words that could work for book cover and is in third person.

Sheryl A. VanVleck is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has completed two years at University of Illinois-Chicago Circle for pre-law; with honors. She was inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society for freshmen women and became an Edmund J. James Scholar. Throughout her five years of college, a consistent thread has run through her education as teachers encouraged her to become a writer. She won a Good Housekeeping paid contest and publication; as well as had numerous articles published in art magazines. She is a professional portrait artist and sculptor, and member of SCBWI. She lives in Indiana with her husband and two grandsons.

#5: one page bio in third person: add 'nice to know' and sums you up completely.

I am not typing all of it. I found errors in the ones I had done already, but I have added, a published author recommending my mystery manuscript to her agent, Rendezvous' experience used in my fantasy, and a "Seeds for Seniors" program I have been promoting. 

Hope this helps you get your bios in order. Everything I read, said you need to keep a variety of updated bios on hand.  A writers work is never done.

AUTHOR'S BIOS and WEBSITES and doctors.

Hard to believe it has been so long since I posted. Even the book was put on hiatus January to May and it is all because our doctor disappeared.

Okay, he did not disappear, he simply decided to change his alliances. He left IU for Franciscan and thought he would be done in a matter of, well a lot less time then it took him. During that time we came down with an intestinal flu (two weeks of our life) then a Viral Bronchial infection that took another six weeks of our life, then a Gout attack like I have never experienced before in my life. On top of all that, I had to go to my heart doctor and please prescription renewals for medications I would have been out of.

Next week, we get to see our GP in his new location.

LESSON LEARNED: I can never move again, unless he moves again and then I will become his stalker.

So, even though I started on my new website months ago, I lost January through May to illness. Some of May anyway, some I just lost to stupidity. I would create an outline of the site (as you should), create a page and realize it was all wrong: again, and again, and again.

I am now working on my bio for the website. And I finally looked up a bunch of YA sites and also recommendations for what to include.  A compilation of what I learned is here.

For your author bio, you need several bios:
1 - for Twitter or elevator pitches - a micro bio in first person. Just two sentences approx.
2 - For Query letters and social media - 50 word bio in first person
3 - For Bylines and Book Jackets - 50 word bio in third person
4 - For book cover - 100 word bio in third person
5 - A long bio - 1 page - in third person.

This actually makes it easier to write, when you start with #1 bio's must haves: your name, degrees, how you are earning a living and where, and with who, you live.  (That last only needed for family and pets).

Write #1 in first person, then add a bit of detail that is pertinent ie member of SCBWI, pertinent honors, awards, etc. for #2, which is also in First Person.

Then, change that one to third person and you have #3, the 50 word byline or book jacket bio.

#4 is for the book cover and you get to add 50 more words, in third person. You can add more pertinent, interesting things, a magazine competition, etc.

#5 is the long bio of one full page Make it in third person and you add things that are nice to know and that sum you up completely. You also want to include charities you are involved in and, at the end, where you may be reached.

This really helped me as I usually write way too much. Following this kept me succinct and on track.

Hope it helps you and thanks for following me even when I have been home ill.

Where's the time?

Eons ago, you could write a book, print it out, send it off in a book box and get a rejection or, if it appealed to someone, find an agent or editor. 

No longer so!

Now, you need an "Author Platform;" A presence on the web, really on the world, that says you are somehow connected, not just five ways to Kevin Bacon, but to half a million people you have never met in person. These are people who like to read your written word.

I do understand. It's a built in audience for your book. What I do not understand is how you have the trim to write a book, when you need to build a website, blog, tweet, LinkedIn, and be entertaining on Facebook, which I find to be quite a depressing site whose main function is to point out to me, "Am I REALLY related to these people?" I am already convinced that I did not go to school with half the people who say they were in my class. My memory cannot be that bad.

So, my apologies for being missing from my site for so long. I have been running another edit to cut wordcount. It has either tightened my work up or killed it dead. I have long ago decided I am not the person to judge my own work, so, in the near future I am thinking about putting up two clips. 1. from when I started the book, and 2. after twenty-five edits. We shall see, because right now I am focusing on my Author Platform.

I found a nice article on The Creative Penn. There is a ton of information on building your platform and what it is and isn't. One is A Definition of Author Platform by Jane Friedman.

Now, I know that I need "visibility, Authority, and reach." I think I also need about twelve more hours in a day. Guess I shall give up my afternoon nap. I cannot give up housecleaning as I gave that up long ago.

The magical Moon Tree world from "MOON TREE MAGIC"

This is a map of the fictional Moon Trees that reside in Yellowwood Forest.

There is a real Yellowwood Forest in Indiana and several spots have been the inspiration for scenes in Moon Tree Magic. You should be able to find web pages for at least two of these areas: Stepp Cemetary and Gobbler's Rocks.  There are several web sites that mention Stepp Cemetary. One is: Ghosts in Stepp Cemetary

Stepp Cemetary is off the map to the north/west. However, there is a real Stepp Cemetary in the 'real' Yellowwood forest area and it is said to be haunted. 

Gobbler's Rock is in the trees, to the north. It is featured in one scene in book one, but will feature prominently in book two. It is also based on a real phenomena of huge boulders that have somehow gotten placed in the tops of trees. While, one of the Gobbler's Rock Trees toppled over a few years ago, there are purported to be two others in the area. You can read more about these huge rocks in the tops of trees by googling: Gobbler's Rock Trees, or visit: Gobbler's Rocks

Another spot shown on the map is the Moon Trees campfire. Once a month, the children celebrate holidays, lunar eclipses, meteorite showers, and life in general by having a dinner of foods they enjoyed in their previous lives. Since their world's technology is basically that of the pre-1800s, and the fairies who cook their food are very concerned with the ecology of the earthy, they eat many foods that are plant based on a day by day basis.

The eagle's tree, the bottom item on the left, is the tree where our protagonist, Austin must collect an aetite.  On his second attempt, he retrieves the stone within a stone, but falls and dislocates his hip. Now, he must find out what it is for.

The Moon Trees were an idea that sprung up partly from reading about Astronaut Stuart Roosa, who took tree seeds on his orbits around the moon. As with most of my writing, it starts with a "What if?" Read the full story by googling Astronaut Roosa and the Moon Tree Seeds.  One, of many, interesting sites regarding this is: The Moon Tree seeds

The actual seeds grew perfectly normal, even though some containers burst during decontamination, but what if they had gained magical powers from their orbits in space? Read Book one, Moon Tree Magic, and find out what could happen. 

It can get mighty crowded in that tree

Characters in Moon Tree Brothers

There are currently fourteen teachers. One is a rare Izzet, others are a Bengali Fairy, a Dwarf, an Apache Mountain Spirit, a water Spirit, a Sylph, a Wood Elf, and several mixes of Pixie, Fairies and Elves.

The Counselor is a Black Dragon man, with scales, wings, smoking nostrils and glowing eyes. The Forest Survival teacher has a secret which will play a part in book one.

It can get mighty crowded in that tree.

Twenty-four students, out of more than two hundred and forty students total, have a part in the first book in the series. Their heritage is as diverse as our country is: European, Ugandan, Japanese, Native American, and arabic, to name a few. But, the heroes of our story are three brothers.

 Twelve-year-old Austin is the youngest brother. He has a house fairy on his shoulder, but she has been dropped from book one and, I'm sure, appearing somewhere else.


Cody is the middle brother. At fourteen, he finds his powers difficult to control and immediately begins growing wing buds, but just cannot become an animal with wings. His first shift is to a worm; with wings.

Jesse is the eldest, at sixteen, and he is the scholar of the bunch. His favorite books is The Art of War and he is beginning training to be a General.

Austin, Cody and Jesse Vilness have accepted the invitation of Hino, Thunderer of the Iroquoise Nation, to live in the Realm of Yellowwood. They will receive an education and be schooled in battle tactics.

What they do not know, is that Hino suspects they are the "Saddest Brothers" fortold by the Katchina - a fire elemental named, Masaw, who will help to save their world.

There are currently fourteen teachers. One is a rare Izzet, others are a Bengali Fairy, a Dwarf, an Apache Mountain Spirit, a water Spirit, a Sylph, a Wood Elf, and several mixes of Pixie, Fairies and Elves.

The Counselor is a Black Dragon man, with scales, wings, smoking nostrils and glowing eyes. The Forest Survival teacher has a secret which will play a part in book one. 

My Writing Process

My writing methods are not complicated. It is not in my makeup to do extensive outlines and have it all plotted out ahead of time. Sometimes, I wish I could work that way, but I simply sit down and write the story in my head. I start at the beginning and end at the end.

Then, I go back and fix it. While I am fixing it, I fuss and grumble and tell myself I am going to buckle down and learn to plot things out ahead of time. Then, I wake up in the middle of the night and the beginning of the next story is rumbling around in my brain and I am off again on the next adventure.

I do massive editing. For the first four or five chapters, I will start each morning at the beginning and, edit as I read. Then, I will continue my story. When that begins to take too long, I start at the last chapter or two I have written. This gets me in the book's world and reminds me of what I need to do next. By the time I am at the end of the book, I would imagine the first chapter has been edited a hundred times. I work seven days a week, unless life intrudes. Sometimes for ten hours, sometimes for two.

I do eventually get around to organizing my plot. I found some great plotting help online at http://ticket2write.tripod.com/mysplot.html.

I found this when I was writing a Mystery and having a problem with plotting, but I find it works well for this Middle Grade Story also.  The Link is The Classic 12-Chapter Mystery Formula I am currently working on the plot for book two, as I am also writing it, from the start of my story.

More than anything, I love the adventure of writing. I love waking up in the middle of the night, with a great idea, and I love waking up in the morning, not knowing where the next adventure is heading. I love doing research and finding a new character, object or landmark, I just have to add to the book. I even loved the day I realized a character, that I was very fond of, would have to die and I sat there writing his life, with tears in my eyes.

Keep the questions in your head.

What if you were offered a chance to live with a group of mythical people who are in the beginning phase of war? Would you join them if it meant trading technology for magic?

What if you were being abused and it meant leaving some of your siblings behind, would you have the strength and determination to help fight their battle to save your siblings?

These are the questions twelve-year-old, Austin Vilness, and his two brothers must ask themselves in Moon Tree Magic.

Moon Tree Magic a/k/a Moon Tree Brothers is a stand-alone book that will appeal to youths living in a multi-cultured society as they question the size of man's footprint on earth and the consequences of that print.

This is not from my query but is definitely questions I asked myself as I wrote Moon Tree Brothers: Magic.

Moon Tree Brothers Book Trailer

This is my Moon Tree Brothers book trailer. I would love to hear comments from my loyal, yet incredibly silent, following.

My nifty new award, my book tailer and REMEMBER to read your manuscript aloud

Wow! Now that I have this nifty writers blog award, and from a site that is right up my fantasy alley, I better get blogging.

I have been doing a little of it on my personal blog, but as far as writing, I have just successfully edited out about 6,000 words in my Middle Grade book. It is with an editor, who is focusing on grammar and mostly punctuation, but I am still amazed to see the stupid mistakes she is catching in it: Redundancies (ie saying the same thing twice in a sentence),  other odd things such as that.

I was so excited when she offered her services that I did not do the final 'out loud' read through on the revised manuscript. Always a mistake.  You have to read it out loud to really hear it.

My book trailer is up on YouTube. I created it by creating several drawings and then using words in between. The thing that really sets it off though, is the music. I have a credit for the composer at the end. The piece I found just fits so perfectly. It has a low native sounding drum building up, for this book that has a lot of elements of the First People in it.  You can find it at by searching YouTube for Moon Tree Brothers. My videos are at http://www.youtube.com/user/SAVanVleck  and include my grandson's Country music, as well as odds and ends.

In amongst this, I seem to have a heart attack epidemic in my family. Mom ended up in the ER with a heart attack and has taken days to recover. Hospice is now coming out to her apartment and that is a comfort. The other family member is mom's little Chihuahua. I have to make sure she eats before she gets her heart medicine and some days she just does not want to eat. The vet doesn't have a lot of hope for length of her life. 

So, your blog award was a bright spot in my day. Thanks, so much Storybook World. Click on my award for a link to their site. http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com

I have not been abducted by aliens!

As time goes by is one of my favorite British sitcoms, but in this context I am talking about life and the passage of time. It has become a time, in my life, where I am caring for an ill, and elderly mother.

She complains that the roles are reversed. She loves to instruct and she does not like playing the child to me, the mother. This is a role that is made even more difficult by the fact that she is OC.

It literally, took me sixty years to realize she was OC, because it was a normal state of my growing up. I thought every household balanced like ornaments when hanging them on the tree. Surely every one's mother cut up bits of papers in perfectly straight squares.

I was the weak one, who cannot cut a straight to save her life. Who finds it disturbing to have perfectly balanced anything on the mantle or coffee table. Don't ever look in my corners and expect perfect cleanliness either.

Caring for a mother who is in stage four heart failure and who has a tube in her gallbaldder can be very time consuming. I am fortunate to have a very understanding and supportive husband, who is often more patient than I am.

My mother, who has done more than I could even detail here for me, is worth every minute of that time, but I do miss being able to dedicate my time to my artwork. But, not to marketing it.

I have a website but find I am not updating it. So, I have decided to drop my website and use blogs instead, to both market my book and artwork.

This blog is already entitled my working title, "Moon Tree Brothers." This blog will remain a place to discuss writing and give you hints of my book.

With that said, I do so hope, I can take the time every couple of days to give you snippets of Moon Tree Brothers. Throw in descriptions, drawings, anything that you might find fun, without endangering my publishing possibilities.

So, a happy holidays to everyone from the gang in the Moon tree, who have come from all over the world to fight the Darkness together. My you have peace, joy and love in your hearts for life.

Structure Part 1–Anatomy of a Best-Selling Novel–Structure Matters « Kristen Lamb's Blog

Like most of you, I have been working a very long time on this novel. My first, a picture book, was written in the car as a story for my grandson. Everyone in the car was saying, "write that one down." So, I did and I have worked on it over the years and, as an artist played with illustrating it. I still thinks it stands the test of submission but other things came up.

My second, a mystery, went quickly. I did research at the library, both on writing and on the things needed for the story. I had index cards and binders up the wazoo. I felt I had a pretty good product, went to Of Dark and Stormy Nights, had an author critique, she gave me the name of her agent and stupidly, I sent it out. Looking back now, it was not ready and my query letter was FARRRR from ready. Someday, I will maybe get to working on it. I need a much better Protagonist, I know that.

This time, the internet is here, and research is at the tips of my fingers. My notes are in computer files and folders. I have still spent five years writing and researching and I still sit here and wonder if I have dotted all the 'i's' and crossed all the 't's?' Last night, in one of my "this isn't good enough" moments. I turned to Google and found a great blog.

Structure Part 1–Anatomy of a Best-Selling Novel–Structure Matters « Kristen Lamb's Blog

Besides having a great teaching overview for what you need to have a best-selling novel, she is also having a critiquing contest. So, check her out and tomorrow I'll share my insecurities with you.

Betch can't wait!!!

We_Are_Not_Alone

By the way, Kristen Lamb has a book out that I just may have to order. It's called:

We_Are_Not_Alone

It's the Writers Guide to Social Media.

Finally, someone who is going to tell me just what the heck I'm supposed to do with Twitter.

And, how can looking at family pictures on FaceBook help me?

How to Create Characters for Your Character-Driven Novel - C. Patrick Schulze – Author of "Born To Be Brothers"

I suffer insecurities. I come from a long line of Obssessive Compulsives who never found the 'just right' anything. It took me most of my life to realize that it was not me who was not 'good enough' it was everything. One thing I constantly work on is to improve my sense of self-worth.

My daughter, who has evaded these OC's problems, works on my reassurance too. She is one of my beta-editors and she will tell me honestly, when I have missed the mark in my writing.

The very first opening was so much better than any of the successive five
openings. Quit changing it and move on.

That makes it so much easier to beleive when she says, "It's great the way it is."

Since she is busy with her two teaching jobs, one a math and science public academy sixth grade class for the gifted, and three evening classes for a University and then there is Notre Dame in the summer, I try not to bother her too much.

So, last night, when I was wondering if I did not have to re-write my protagonist, I googled him. You know, there is that 'if you Google it they will come" thing going. And, I came across C. Patrick Schulze's article on Creating Characters for your Character-driven novel. And, trust me, they all should be character driven.

Check it out at: How to Create Characters for Your Character-Driven Novel - C. Patrick Schulze – Author of "Born To Be Brothers" It's a great article.